


Special

by argentkosmos



Series: 30 Ways To Say "I Love You" [4]
Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: (i'll explain in the notes), 30 ways to say "i love you", F/M, a chat with The Mum, i just wanted to give kevin's mum space, just that, kinda canon divergence, prompt: over a cup of tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:29:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26351194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/argentkosmos/pseuds/argentkosmos
Summary: Prompt: Over a cup of teaShe wasn’t expecting to find his mother home, she thought they were supposed to be alone, but Kevin was nowhere to be found and Gwen ended up sitting on the sofa in the living room, a cup of tea in her hands and Kevin’s mother just beside her.
Relationships: Kevin Levin/Gwen Tennyson
Series: 30 Ways To Say "I Love You" [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1853857
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	Special

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!!  
> I'm finally back and I missed this series so much! Real Life™ has been kicking me in the butt lately but I'm here again and I couldn't be happier.  
> Okay I need to say some things about this story, it's gonna be a little long but bear with me please.  
> So, as some of you may know, I haven't watched omniverse yet (planning to tho), but I know there's some stuff about Devin in it, I had some people explaining it to me and I did some research since i don't really care for spoilers. I don't know where you stand on this, but I still want to consider Devin real (this is why I tagged the canon divergence, also because I know I'm missing a big chunk of Kevin's story).  
> So this is from the perspective of someone who has no knowledge about Omniverse and there might be inconsistencies and I'm very sorry for that. I really wanted to write about this but didn't want to wait that long, I hope you can still enjoy it.  
> I also cheated a little bit with this, because there's no actual direct confession of love, but yes one of them admits their love so I consider the prompt filled.  
> As always, english is not my first language and I don't have a beta, so please point me the mistakes so I can correct them and improve.  
> Prompts are on [my tumblr](https://argentkosmos.tumblr.com/post/624664653351600128/i-love-you-prompts) if you want to take a look at them!
> 
> Thank you for reading all this, and I hope you can like the story, enjoy!

Kevin’s mom’s house had always been a strange place to Gwen.

Firstly, Kevin tried to keep her and Ben away from his family and his past so much, that even the actual existence of the house was basically a legend.

Secondly, the first time she saw that house it was a pile of rubble and Kevin wasn’t quite himself. If she was being honest, she just wanted to forget that experience altogether and also the utter fear she felt while watching how the spaceship exploded right in front of her eyes and for long, terrible seconds, she thought Kevin was dead.

But at least Kevin finally let her meet his mother a few days later.

Mrs. Levin was… far too normal. She had a regular job as a manager in shop, she liked panting and she attended a reading club twice a week. She wasn’t anything like his son, Gwen had noticed, but their aura was similar and she was still able to see Kevin in his mother. While he was the carbon copy of his father, as Gwen could clearly see form the few pictures on the walls, the way his eyes crinkled and the little lines around his lips when he smiled were undoubtedly from his mother’s side.

The same smile she saw right after ringing Kevin’s doorbell.

She wasn’t expecting to find his mother home, she thought they were supposed to be alone, but Kevin was nowhere to be found and Gwen ended up sitting on the sofa in the living room, a cup of tea in her hands and Kevin’s mother just beside her.

She asked Gwen about college, what classes she was going to attend the next semester and how she got along with her roommate (Kevin must had mentioned it). Gwen was glad she could do small talk, happy that the previous embarrassment had now melted in comfortable chatter.

“I hope Kev isn’t distracting you too much, I know what is like to have a boyfriend in college” she said at one point, a wistful sigh leaving her lips, curved in a knowing grin.

Gwen swallowed her hot tea too soon and she had to really force herself not to cough and spit it all out.

She cleared her throat. “No, no, quite the opposite. He’s very understanding and he helps me when he can…” she started and then, voice lower and careful, she added. “and to be fair it doesn’t hurt that he distracts me a little.” A small smile blossomed on her lips at the thought of Kevin forcing her to lie down and watch a movie together, tucking her under the blankets when she was finally asleep, leaving her with a kiss on her forehead when it was time for him to go. And well yes, his other distraction methods too. She hoped Kevin’s mother wouldn’t notice her reddened cheeks.

The woman, apparently oblivious, gave her a sweet smile. “I’m happy to hear things are good between you two.” She sipped he tea and then placed her cup down on the coffee table.

“I think I owe you a thank you, Gwen.”

At those words, Gwen was about to choke for a second time and her surprised eyes remained on Kevin’s mother for a few seconds, before her brain caught up and Gwen put down her cup right next to the other.

That woman wasn’t different from any other human on the outside, but Gwen could vaguely feel a certain energy radiating from her figure. She couldn’t see her the same way she could with her grandma, but she could feel a barely-there presence and it was rare for a human. Even her dad and uncle, who were part anodite, didn’t emanate the same type of mana.

Maybe, she thought, it was the same thing Kevin’s father first noticed. Gwen was aware that part of the attraction Kevin felt for her was due to her being basically an infinite living battery for him. A very, very small part, yes, but still a part.

One day, when she got closer to Kevin’s mum, she promised to ask how that was possible, given that Mrs. Levin was aware of it herself.

The woman took one of her hands, holding it in both hers. “For Kevin, because I see how he’s changed since he met both you and Ben again.”

Gwen lowered her gaze, caught off guard. “Yes, he’s changed a lot, but it was his choice and his own merit, not mine nor Ben’s.” She wanted to repeat it forever, it hadn’t been her to change him and it hadn’t been Ben.

Kevin’s mother nodded and held her hand even tighter. “I know, I know my boy was strong and brave to take this new path, but I also know you two guided him in the right direction.” She sighed again and this time it was a pained breath, Gwen could feel it in her aura, the conversation sparkled unpleasant memories within her. Gwen still wanted to reiterate how she and Ben did nothing but stay by Kevin’s side, but the woman looked at her straight in the eyes and Gwen lost all her will to reply.

“Kevin was, because of his nature, a sensitive kid, always perceptive of the things that surrounded him. When his dad…” she blinked to keep away the thin layer of tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “When Devin died, my first concern was to find him a new dad, because I thought I couldn’t raise him alone.”

Gwen didn’t know if it was right for her to listen to Kevin’s life like that, since he still hadn’t told her most of it, but she didn’t want to interrupt his mother. She kept silent, waiting.

“I then realized Kevin didn’t need a new dad, he just needed his mother to be there for him, but I was so blinded by my own need to not be alone and I lost sight of the only thing that a mother should never: my son’s happiness.” She lowered her head. It was painful to remember, there were memories she had tried to push away and forget, but they never did and with them, neither the bitter aftertaste of guilt.

For the first time, Gwen squeezed her hands back. “You did what you thought was the right thing, I’m sure Kevin knows that…”

Kevin’s mother smiled at her. “That’s kind of you to say, but I’m an adult, I can admit the wrong I did and even if Kevin knows, it doesn’t erase the fact that I hurt him when he needed me the most.”

She let one of Gwen’s hands go to get her cup back and took a long sip, letting the warm beverage dissolve some of the tension. “I never wanted him to run away, but I didn’t fight enough to have him back and then I thought I had lost him forever. Even when he came back from the Null Void, even if he was back in my home.”

“At that time, Ben and I were convinced he was sleeping at the garage” Gwen revealed, because Mrs. Levin’s aura had smoothened and all the creases and wrinkles of fear and guilt were gone. Maybe it was okay to try and lighten the atmosphere.

Kevin’s mother laughed, a short, quiet laugh, much like the one Kevin breathed against Gwen’s skin.

“He used to do that a lot, yes!” She squeezed Gwen’s hands one last time. “What I mean is, thank you for creating an environment where Kevin could find himself again, you and your cousin helped my son to come back to me and I couldn’t be more grateful for that.”

Gwen looked in her eyes, so similar to Kevin’s that she had to remind herself of who was in front of her for a moment. “Kevin is special” she said. “and I, too, am grateful to have him in my life.”

Kevin’s mother smiled at her so brightly, just like a kid on Christmas’ morning, and her aura shined strong and welcoming. Yes, there definitely was something special in that woman too.

“Can I ask you another question, dear?” she asked Gwen, eyes never leaving her. Gwen nodded.

“Do you love him?”

All the memories they had together came to her mind, since the first time he started insistently flirting with her, maybe he did it out of desire for self-satisfaction, to prove himself he could sweep even his enemy’s cousin off her feet. Then, to when his behaviour started to shift and turn sweeter, less flirtatious, more genuine and interested.

She thought about the terrible months when he was stuck in that form after cracking the Omnitrix and about how, many times, their relationship had been on the verge of falling apart because he felt like a monster.

And though there still were things to work on, she knew she was willing to stay and work together.

And so, did she love Kevin? It wasn’t hard to answer.

“I do, so much” she said and it was that simple. She loved him and Kevin loved her back, no more, no less.

Mrs. Levin stroked her cheek. “Thank you, Gwen.”

In that moment the front door clicked open and the jingling of keys filled the entrance. “Hi! I’m home!”

Kevin entered the living room, eyes trained on his phone. “Damn it’s so late… please tell me Gwen isn’t here y-” he raised his gaze just in time to see his mother and girlfriend share a complicit grin, comfortably seated on the sofa.

“Oh…” was the only thing he was able to mutter.

Mrs. Levin stood up, walking towards him to kiss him on the cheek as a hello and Gwen had to suppress a soft sound when she saw his face dusted in red.

“Mum…”

“I know, honey, I’ll leave you alone! It’s time for my reading club anyway” she said, then turned to look at Gwen. “Thank you for the chat, dear, I’m glad we could talk!”

Gwen barely had the time to thank her back and say goodbye and the other woman was already out of the house, leaving her alone with a very embarrassed Kevin.

Laughing under her breath, she drew closer to him, sliding her arms around his neck. “About time.”

Kevin’s hands found her hips in what had become a reflex to him. “Traffic.”

Gwen raised on her tip toes, finally face to face with her boyfriend after a whole day. “Mh?”

He rolled his eyes and that made her laugh.

“What did you talk about with mum?”

Gwen considered making up something, but she couldn’t find a good reason to do that and she also thought that maybe hearing it would benefit Kevin.

She stroked the hair on his nape. “How proud we both are of you.”

Kevin’s eyes shoot comically open and he slowly shook his head, surprised, before a sly smile appeared on his face. “Of course you are, I’m perfect.”

It was Gwen’s turn to roll her eyes but she couldn’t find it in herself to argue back. Nor she had a reason to.

Because after all, with all his merits and flaws, with his troubled past and still wobbly present, with his uncertain future and the multitude of things still left to say and waiting to see the light out of his lips, Kevin truly was, in Gwen’s eyes, perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this! It would mean the world to me if you could leave a kudos or a comment ❤  
> I hope you are staying safe and being careful with all that is happening around the world, have a great rest of your day or night ✨  
> L


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